I’m uploading my photos to my website and linking everything from there. From Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and here. Hoping this may help in my website rankings. You know, all that fancy SEO speak.

Here is the first one.

Last weekend, I went out to shoot the Harvest Moon rising over Mt. Baker. Using the Photographers Ephemeris, I discovered if I drive along Lummi Shore Drive, I’ll have an excellent view of the moon as it rises over Mt. Baker. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Clouds rolled in and I missed it.

This vertical is my favorite. Though I like the one with the boat, below, I like this one best. One of my Facebook fans pointed out why: “this is more interesting. I like the long reflection, no boat, and the clouds over the moon. And the portrait version keeps the eyes from moving around too much.”

However, I went the next evening and the view was incredible. So I set my camera on a tripod and used my 80-200 f/2.8 to shoot it. I used my 1.4X converter for the first few shots of the distant Moon rising over the range just north of Mount Baker. But took it off as the composition was too tight.

The view of Mount Baker itself from this vantage point is awesome. You have a clear shot of this dormant volcano rising high above all the other surrounding peaks.

And it’s not that high in altitude as far as mountains go. It is only a 10,781 feet above sea level. What makes it impressive is that it juts out high above the surrounding peaks.

Using the self-timer set for 5 seconds to help eliminate vibration for a crisper photo, I almost missed the boat as it went through the Moon’s reflection in the water. Timing is everything.

In addition too using The Photographer’s Ephemeris, I also have a tool on my phone called “Moon Trajectory.”

This is a really useful tool in that it helps you find what day and time would be best to get photos of the moon as it rises through the sky.

You simply point your cell phone’s camera at the object you want, and it overlays the trajectory of the moon with ticks stating local time. I’ll have a review later with screen shots.

As the Moon rose over the mountains, I initially had my D300s with my 80-200 f/2.8 with the TC-14E 1.4X converter. After a few of these shots, I realized it was way too tight of a composition so I removed the converter.